KUALA LUMPUR: On Monday (Apr 28), Malaysia’s highest court approved the Attorney-General’s request to appeal a decision that allowed former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is currently in prison, to access a document he claims would permit him to serve his remaining time under house arrest.
Najib, who is serving time for his involvement in the massive 1MDB scandal, is seeking legal action to prompt authorities to acknowledge a royal decree he asserts was issued last year by the former king. He believes this decree entitles him to complete his sentence at home.
The Federal Court, in a unanimous ruling, decided that the Attorney-General could contest a lower court’s January decision favoring Najib’s request for the alleged document. The case is scheduled to be heard on July 1 and 2.
Last year, Najib had his 12-year sentence reduced as a result of a pardon from then-King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah. Najib claims that an “addendum order” related to the pardon, which would allow for home confinement, has been disregarded by the authorities.
The former king’s palace has confirmed the existence of the document, but Malaysia’s law ministry states that it has no record of it. The home minister has denied any knowledge of it, while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has insisted, “we did not hide anything.”
In 2020, Najib was convicted of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally accepting funds taken from a state investment fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad. He is currently facing additional corruption trials linked to 1MDB and continues to deny any wrongdoing.
